There are three types of children at risk in Egypt: disabled children, street children, and working children. In El Salam, an industrial community located on the outskirts of Cairo, Charity Shepherd Organization is doing it’s best to support the working children.
El Salam’s streets are lined with garbage, construction supplies, and small workshops. A number of mosques sprinkle the scene, popping up from the filth like an oasis, sending out daily calls for prayer.
It is estimated that more than 50 percent of the inhabitants of El Salam are under the poverty level – meaning they struggle to earn $2 a day. With an economy built on small businesses, most children work with their families or elsewhere to help provide. Child labor laws in Egypt are put in place to protect these children, but like the lines separating lanes of traffic, they are mostly ignored.
Charity Shepherd started working in this community two years ago through a community center. One of the first projects they undertook was to put more than 290 light posts in the streets to prevent crime at night. They also planted more than 300 trees to help stop the littering and pollution.
Samouel Izhah, the director of the center, said they have achieved “a lot of progress” in this community – helping both Christians and Muslims. They provide job skills training for children and adults, help teach small crafts, arrange sports and activities for children in a nearby field, and install hygienic toilets and faucets in neighborhood bathrooms.
One of the most successful things they have done in this area is to connect people with local businessmen for job skills training. For just 400 Egyptian pounds (equivalent to about $150) they can provide two months of one-the-job training with local businesses. This gives them the skills they need, and many times helps them become employed with the business after they complete the training process. More than 350 individuals have been trained, with 270 receiving jobs upon completion.
“Their lives have been changed completely,” Izhah explained. “One of the most successful jobs in this area is hairstyling for women and cell phone repairs for men. There is great demand for this type of job.”
As they help people with physical needs, they are able to teach them about their rights and help them learn to protect themselves. Children who work have been empowered to speak up – and the center has helped them earn rights to medical care by helping them receive an official identification card (a requirement for social services in Egypt).
Changing the culture takes time, and it is unlikely that children will stop working anytime soon. Magdi Shaker explained to us, “We used to fight against child labor. But then when you go to the families and tell them their children shouldn’t work, they say, ‘Give me some money.’ Child labor is a reality, so we must do what we can do to make it better.”
There are many other projects the organization wishes to expand, explained Charity Shepherd’s Board Chairman Nabil Kamal Hanna. “There is not limit in Egypt for work for charity, but of course we have limited resources. We can do better to improve the lives of these people. We’ve been praying for a long time for God to extend our work, to cover more area and to help more needy people.”
It is our hope that Buckner can help this community in the best way possible. Please be in prayer for our leaders as they make some important decisions that may impact the lives of hundreds of citizens of Egypt.
In this video, Nabila, one of the mothers of El Salam, explains to us how her husband abuses her, but she has learned to speak up for herself at the center. She has also learned how to make good food for her husband and children, and has been able to start a small business selling food from her home. She wants to make a better life for her children.
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